The day Aurélien Tchouameni (Ruan; 23 years old) signed with Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez took him to see the 14 European Cups. During the visit to the trophy room, the Frenchman left the first of his ambitions: “Wherever I go I want to leave my mark. I remember that when I entered the room, I told the president: ‘We are going to need a bigger one, because we will win many trophies,’ he says at the Valdebebas residence, in his first interview in Spain since that June 14, 2022. In the horizon, the classic this Saturday in Barcelona (4:15 p.m., Dazn), a rivalry of which he shares the most notable memory with Jude Bellingham: “When Cristiano scores in Barcelona and says: ‘Calm down, calm down.’ Crazy”. The last time they played against Barça, in the preseason, they lost 3-0. “It’s different from an official match, but it’s still hard for us.”
Ask. In preseason he was seen in a video playing the piano at the team’s training camp. Did he learn as a child?
Answer. No. I started playing the piano at the World Cup. We made it to the final, so we spent a lot of time in the hotel. We couldn’t go out. There was a piano in a room and with a bed [Camavinga] We try to play. All my life I had thought: “One day I have to learn.” When you know how to play it’s beautiful. I started learning, by myself, without a teacher, with the phone, with an app.
Q. And how’s it going?
R. I can play some songs. It’s okay, because playing the piano helps me stay focused. It is very difficult to play with two hands and remember the song. I play at home when I have time. I have a very very big piano, very very good. I can’t touch anyone. I need a quality one [ríe]. I’m very proud of myself. At first he said: “How am I going to do it?” In a year I will be able to play more. Whatever I do, I try to be good, to improve.
Q. In Qatar, as I said, they reached the final against Argentina, which was decided in a penalty shootout, in which they shot out. How do you remember that moment, and the provocations of the goalkeeper, Dibu Martínez?
R. To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention at the time. He was really calm, maybe too calm. He was like, “Okay, it’s my time.” When he was little and there was a situation with too much pressure, my mother told me: “Okay, it’s not the penalty in the World Cup final.” And now was that time. Unfortunately, I missed the penalty, but the most important thing was not missing that penalty, but losing the final, losing that opportunity to be world champion. It will remain in my mind for a lifetime, but it is what it is, part of my journey, of my legacy too. We’ll see what we can say about that at the end of my career.
Q. He has always considered mental work to be very important. He prepared the game that he played as a center back with virtual reality glasses. How do they work?
R. I’ve been using them for about six months, before every game. Depending on the position you are going to play, you are on the field in virtual reality and you have to read the game. You see players, you receive the ball and you choose. You have to see what’s happening behind you, for example.
Q. It serves?
R. I see improvements on the field and in training. You can change the intensity and play at a higher intensity than in the game, faster, and then on the field it is easier. It helps me with vision and decision making under rival pressure.
Q. His position, defensive midfielder, seems stressful.
R. I don’t know if it’s stressful, but you have to be watching. When I played center back [contra Osasuna], it was different: you don’t have to pay attention to what’s happening behind you. But in the center of the field, you receive the ball from the left, you have to think about what is happening to the right, and behind, and in front of you. The pressure is different.
Q. What did you learn from the position at Monaco with Cesc?
R. It helped me a lot with scanning, with always playing forward, and when it is not possible, you have to be calm with the ball, give one more touch, because things will change during that situation.
Q. What other players have you noticed?
R. In many. If you have success anywhere on the field, I’m going to watch you. For example, for passing, Kevin de Bruyne. I used to watch Paul Pogba, Patrick Vieira, Makelele, Zinedine Zidane… All the midfielders. I looked at them to improve my game.
Q. He met Casemiro for a few weeks. Did you also have time to learn with him?
R. We played together for about two months in preseason. I remember that after each game he came up to me to tell me what I had done well, what I had done wrong. It was ok.
Q. What does the transition look like from the youth side?
R. We have very good chemistry in the team, especially in the midfield. Personally, and I think my teammates too, we just want to learn from Toni and Luka every day. They try to help us improve the quality of our decisions and our technical quality. If you want to ask them something, they are happy to answer. We learn every day with them.
Q. He arrived at Madrid just after the Champions League of comebacks. Do you understand what happened playing with them?
R. I think it has to do with serenity. From the coach, from my teammates. When we are in a difficult situation, we know that we will be able to overcome it, so we are calm. And I also think that now the rivals are afraid of us. They know that even if they are winning 2-0, we can win the game. We can really feel it.
Q. How important is the good relationship that young people have outside the countryside?
R. It’s good because we can tell each other the truth in the field. A player may be in a difficult moment during the game, but we all tell him: “Hey, it’s okay, we know what kind of player you are, you can do great, keep trying.” We go out together, we spend days off together. We’re going to play together for 10 years, so it’s important to build this chemistry now. This way it will be easier for us to do great things.
Q. One of the members of that group, Vini, has suffered several racist attacks. How does he feel when this happens?
R. It’s difficult, because I was in that situation when I played for Monaco. Something like this happened to me. It is difficult to understand that now, in 2023, we still have to fight these problems. We will see in the future, but no matter what happens, we will rise up to fight racism.
Q. Were you surprised by Bellingham?
R. It didn’t surprise me, because I watch a lot of football. I knew he was an incredible player, and I thanked the president for bringing him in, because he thought he was going to help us win more titles. He is an incredible player: how he adapts to this team, to this club, and to his age…
Q. It has that serenity that I was talking about.
R. You need serenity when you play for Real Madrid. If not, it’s going to be difficult.
Q. You can work?
R. I think that not all players can play for Real Madrid. You need quality, but also a good mental disposition, good mental health to be able to overcome everything that happens here, because there is a lot of pressure from outside. It’s the greatest institution in the world, so whatever you do, you have to win, and you have to be prepared, and be the kind of guy who was born to be here.
Q. Jorge Valdano has said that other clubs can pay more, but Madrid pays in glory. Do you agree?
R. It’s true. You can go to other clubs, which will pay you more, but you will not have this greatness that you can have when you play for Real Madrid.
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